Here we go… The New York-London-Milan-Paris circuit has officially begun. As fashion month kicks into gear, all eyes are on the Big Apple’s glittery FROWs.
The shows began as Venice Film Festival came to a close, which due to SAG-AFTRA strikes saw a serious shortage of its usual A-list couture moments. But Venice’s loss could be fashion month’s gain, with the actors’ depleted schedules freeing more of them up to attend. Fingers crossed for more mega-watt style moments than ever.
Day one welcomed one of the most hyped debuts on the schedule, with Peter Do’s first show as Helmut Lang’s new creative director attracting the likes of actresses Indya Moore and Hari Nef, both of whom nailed the brand’s minimalist assignment in monochrome mini dresses.
Also in attendance was rapper Brent Faiyaz, who sat next to Nef wearing a black, acid-washed denim jacket, sunglasses and a hat with a scarf wrapped around it. As well as model Richie Shazam and Queen & Slim lead Jodie Turner-Smith.
Later that day, Mirror Palais took over the American Irish Association, with the opulent setting perfect for the brand’s romantic and glamorous offering. Although the New York-city based label is a relative newcomer, it’s already established its star power — one that pulled in influencer Cindy Kimberly, who closed the show in a breathtaking silk gown with an exaggerated tutu gathered around the hips, along with model Emily Ratajkowski, who watched from the FROW.
It wouldn’t be fashion week without the celebrity-packed after-hours schedule. On night one, A$AP Rocky and Kelly Rowland appeared at Harlem’s Fashion Row show and Style Awards, held at the legendary Apollo Theater. Rocky won the Virgil Abloh Award, dedicated to the late designer, while Rowland took home the Fashion Icon Award (which was last year awarded to Janet Jackson).
On day two, at Khaite’s moody spring/summer 2024 show at the Park Avenue Armoury, American Horror Story star Emma Roberts arrived in a leather skirt and jacket, which she paired with a nude mesh roll neck. Also in attendance were former Victoria’s Secret model Elsa Hosk and Spider-Man star Laura Harrier.
However, it appeared the coolest place to be was Proenza Schouler’s FROW, with Hollywood’s next generation of stars, Rachel Sennott, Ayo Edebiri and Emma Seligman, all sat together. That’s not all: Pamela Anderson mingled with TikTok’s newest It-girl and “quiet luxury” pioneer Sofia Richie Grange.
Next up: Dion Lee. The Australian designer has built a reputation for club-ready, high-sex pieces. This season, though, they pivoted into the boardroom, with constructed blazers, shirts and technical, lace-up boots dominating the runway. All the while, Gen Z popstar Ice Spice, Paramore lead singer Hayley Williams and punk icon Avril Lavigne watched from the sidelines.
Sunday showed no signs of the FROW style slowing down. A-listers Zooey Deschanel, Katie Holmes (who looked gorgeous in a plum-coloured flared dress with a turtleneck and braided trim detail) and Stephanie Hui hauled themselves down to Ulla Johnson’s early 10am show at the Powerhouse Arts in Brooklyn.
Across town at Jason Wu, Olivia Palermo, Instagram Head of Fashion Eva Chen and former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Lisa Rinna rubbed shoulders while waiting for the show to begin. Taking place at the Isamu Noguchi’s Sunken Garden at the Chase Manhattan Bank Building, the ethereal collection was modelled by Amelia Gray (Rinna’s daughter) who stormed down the expansive, concrete runway in a green and white trench coat.
Monday brought Tory Burch, with the likes of Uma Thurman, Naomi Watts, Taylour Paige, Suki Waterhouse and Jeremy O. Harris watching on as Emily Ratajkowski once again took to the runway, accompanied by Top Boy star and top model Adwoa Aboah. There was also a heavy dose of women named Madeline in attendance, with Maddie Ziegler, Madelaine Petsch, Madeline Argy and Madeleine White all occupying seats at the show. Argy’s appearance comes hot on the heels of breakup rumours surrounding her and rapper beau Central Cee, who was seen partying with Ice Spice and Doja Cat at an afterparty yesterday.
Elsewhere, at LaQuan Smith, Slayyyter, Babyface, Mary J. Blige and Fabolous kept each other company on the front row while Laverne Cox and Leyna Bloom posed up a storm nearby.
Meanwhile, Michael Kors brought out the heavyweights, with a front row filled to the brim with A-listers. Blake Lively, Van Hunt, Halle Berry, Nicole Ari Parker and Tiffany Haddish sat side by side, while Rita Ora rubbed shoulders with Vanessa Hudgens and Jesse Williams. There was a mini reunion for the cast of Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut Booksmart, as the actress-turned-director beamed next to actors Kaitlyn Dever and Molly Gordon.
All attendees were a vision in monochrome and nudes, but it was Blake Lively’s skintight sequin jumpsuit (and trademark beachy waves) which stole the show.
Then, just as it was starting to feel like this fashion week had a notable absence of one particular family, Kim Kardashian came through to represent the clan. She wasn’t at a show, per se, but appeared front and centre at a NYFW-adjacent dinner for Kering, parent company of Gucci and Balenciaga, alongside Nicole Kidman and Isabelle Huppert — two fellow Balenciaga babes.
Kardashian also took time to attend another dinner during her brief time in New York, with none other than Amazon founder (and the man who wanted to send her ex-boyfriend, Pete Davidson, to the moon) Jeff Bezos. Bezos’ girlfriend Lauren Sanchez was also in attendance, following the couple’s appearance at the Staud front row the day before.
Although they showed off the official schedule, American luxury brand Coach unoffically kicked off NYFW by taking over the New York Public Library. Megastar Jennifer Lopez arrived in a fringe suede Coach jacket-cum-dress, to be seated alongside American and British Vogue editor-in-chiefs Anna Wintour and Edward Enninful on the front row. They were in prime position to see the spectacle of PETA activists gate crashing the show with “Coach: Leather Kills” signs.
Also in attendance was popstar Lil Nas X (who stole the show in a maxi leather skirt and matching belly-grazing, cropped jacket), Outerbanks star Chase Stokes and Riverdale actress Camila Mendes, who wore double leather in Coach’s take on tailoring.
Also off-schedule: on the eve of the main show schedule, the Victoria’s Secret comeback ‘World Tour’ event offered a particularly starry offering. After cancelling their famed fashion shows in 2019, the brand’s 2021 rebrand has been slow to materialise, so the underwear company pulled out all the stops with the guestlist for its return to the show schedule.
It was supermodel central, with Gigi Hadid, Naomi Campbell, Adriana Lima and Candice Swanepoel, who perfected the assignment in a black and gold corseted mini dress. It-girls Amelia Gray, Julia Fox and Lila Moss also made their way down the pink carpet, all wearing gilded VS angel wings. The brand also called in music icons from the last few decades, from Avril Lavigne to Doja Cat. Together they settled in the Manhattan Center, where they watched a 12-minute trailer for its upcoming Amazon Prime-streaming full length film.
